By Derrick A. Max,

Last night, Governor Glenn Youngkin delivered his final State of the Commonwealth Address. It was more than just a goodbye. The speech was a rebuttal of the Thomas Jefferson Institute’s claim that conservative pro-growth governance cannot produce tangible results. We agree with Governor Youngkin on every important metric – jobs, investments, education outcomes and revenue growth – that Virginia is much stronger today than it was four years ago.

Job Creation and Business Development

Youngkin’s address highlighted what is likely his administration’s most important achievement: restoring Virginia as a place for businesses to invest, expand and hire. Since declaring Virginia “Open for Business” on Day One, The Commonwealth has:

• Attracted more than $157 Billion in investment for business (more than all six previous administrations combined);
• Employment increased by 270,000.
• 255,000 new positions created, with an additional 80,000 jobs to be expected through existing commitments. This includes 40,000 construction jobs.

Governor Youngkin warned that the growth of the economy requires policy certainty, protections for right-to work, lower taxes, and a government which competes instead of obstructs. His passion against changing Virginia’s right to work law was not ideological; it was empirical. It was rooted in capital flight observed from high-tax and high-regulation state.

Cutting Red Tape: Smaller Government, Bigger Results

The success of the outgoing administration in regulatory reform is perhaps the most underrated success story. The administration:

• Virginians saved $1.4 billion annually; and
• The cost of building a house was reduced by $24,000 on average.

This conservative governance is at its best. It removes bureaucratic barriers so that families can afford to buy homes, entrepreneurs start businesses and employers hire quicker, all without sacrificing safety or accountability.

Tax relief and revenue growth: Growth pays the bills

Youngkin confronted the myth that tax reductions starve the government. Instead, Virginia experienced:

• four consecutive years of revenue growth compounded at 8 percent (60 percent faster than in the previous decade);
• produced a $10 billion excess over the same years.
• Tax relief of $9 billion while increasing investment in education, healthcare and infrastructure; and
• The December revenue alone grew 20 percent over the previous year, with an overall growth of $1.2 Billion after only six months.

The economic expansion was driven by consumer confidence and jobs, not COVID funds or one-time gimmicks.

The conservative lesson is clear: Lowering tax burdens attracts both people and capital, while raising them drives away both. This was reinforced by Virginia’s net domestic inmigration for the first time in more than a decade.

Younkin warned against plans to reinstate a carbon tax under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, pass a wealth-tax, or create a family leave tax for employers, as they would reverse historic gains over the past four years

Education Reform: Parents Matter, Standards Matter

Youngkin focused on restoring excellence in education after pandemic failures caused Virginia students to suffer some of the worst learning losses in the country. His administration refocused on parental involvement, higher standards and learning that was aligned with the workforce. The results were:

• Teacher pay up nearly 20 percent;
• Teachers vacancies down by 36 percent;
• A 20 percent surge in math proficiency after raising standards;
• Today, four out of five high school graduates leave with a certificate or credential.

Lab Schools, Career and Technical Education, and Literacy Reform replaced bureaucratic boxes-checking by outcomes — another example conservative reform that delivered measurable improvements.

Energy Policy that Fuels Growth

Governor Youngkin correctly highlighted the economic success of Virginia’s data center industry, and warned against policies which would undermine it. Data centers have become a cornerstone of the Commonwealth’s growth, generating billions in private investment, supporting thousands of high-paying jobs, strengthening national security, and providing critical revenue for local governments–particularly in Northern Virginia.

Virginia’s energy policy was not designed to meet the needs of a state that is rapidly growing, but one which is stagnant. Youngkin stated that a comprehensive energy strategy is needed to meet the rising demand, which includes significant new nuclear and natural gas generation. Renewables alone will not be able to provide reliable and affordable power in Virginia at this scale.

The Governor made it clear that the Virginia Clean Economy Act is not working for Virginians. It has increased costs, caused brownouts and threatened to drive data centers and investments to other states. The end of the VCEA, which would accelerate energy generation, is not antienvironmental. It is pro-growth and pro-reliability and is essential for Virginia to remain competitive, affordable and economically secure.

The Conservative Lesson Going Forward

Governor Youngkin’s speech was a defense, at its heart, of conservatism as a matter of common sense: limited, but effective, government that respects families, a tax climate that is competitive, regulatory restraint and accountability in the education. Virginia’s four-year experience shows that conservative policies don’t just preserve prosperity; they also generate it.

Virginia didn’t soar by chance. It was a deliberate act.

Derrick Max, president of the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy (JPIP), is the first to publish this comment today.